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Patented. Sept. 7,1897.

(No Model.) I

W. I'. HODGE 8a H. M. GEER. STUFFING BOX FOR VALVES.

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UNITED STATES lVILLlAM F.

PATENT Tanica@ IIODGE, OF NORTH ADAMS, MASSACHUSETTS, AND HARVEY M.

G'EER, OF BALLSTON SPA, NEV YORK.

STUFFlNG-BOX FOR VALVES.

SEECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 589,725, dated September Y?, 1897.

I Application tiled March 17, 1897. Serial No. 628,048. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concer/m' Be it known that we, WILLIAM F. llenen, oi' North Adams, Berkshire county,- Massachusetts, and HARVEY M. GEER, of Ballet-on Spa, Saratoga county, New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stuffing-Boxes for Valves; and We hereby declare that the following is a i'ull, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

This invention is an improvement in stuifing-boxes of valves, especially designed for large valves on water-mains.

The object of the invention is to make a packing or stalling box which is packed or tightened by means of screw-pressure obtained from the screw-threads on the valvestem itseli:l in connection with elastic packing-rings, and thus may be made perfectly tight at any time to permit the uppenordinary stui'iing-box to be packed orrepacked Without loss ci the fluid the passage of which the valve controls and Without necessitating the closing or shutting ofthe valve, thus interrupting the free fioiv of the fluid.

The primary utility of our invention is` to act as an emergency packing of valve-stems of the ordinary Water-Works. gate or valve. Frequently the Water-gates of a city or pub` lic water-supply develop serious and at all event-s annoying leakages in the ordinary stuffing-box, and they are generally of such an extent as to require immediate attention. Ordinarily it is a costlything to excavate t0 the stnfiingbox of these valves and make proper repair. Especially is this true Vin our northern or winter climates. Fnrtl1er,\vhile said stuliing-box is being repacked the valves as new made must be shut tightly. A fire may occur at that very moment and before the water could be laid on the system again serious damage and loss'might occur, especi'ally in the case 'ot a very large valve,\vl1ich requires hard Work and much time to fully open it. Non7 our invention is designed to obviate these ditlicultiesMto bo, in fact, an emergency packing. It is not intended to be in use at all times, butY only atsuch times as it may be felt that the time for repacking the ordinary box has arrived or that we Wish to check further leakage until some convenient time to so repack, and all this can then be done at a minimum of expense and Without inconvenience or drawback to the users ot' the system and Without shutting the gate or cutting oit the supply.

The invention therefore consists in the novel construction and combination of parts summarized in the claims and hereinafter shown and described.

' Referring to the drawings, Figure l shows a half-elevation and halt-vertical section of an ordinary stop gate or valve for fluids embodying our invention, ivhieh only slightly modifies the construction of the casing intermediate the stu'liing-box and valve-chamber. Fig. 2 is a section and top viewcf the elastic packings. Fig. 3 is a section and top view of the hard rings.

A designates the casing; B, the sliding gates or valves, hun g on the 11utC,which is screwed onto the threaded end of the valve-stem D, which has a collar L'Zgvorking in a cylindrical chamber b in the'casing above the valve-chainber, the upper end of chamber h being closed by a removable cap-casting E, which is provided With flanges e, securely bolted to flan ges a on the upper end of casing A, as shown. Casting E is also provided with the Ordinar f stuftingnbox F and gland f for packing' the The valve-stem D and its collar l are'left as generally manufactured, but both above and below collar d, Within chamber h, are placed loose hard-metal collars G and loose elastic expansible packiu g-rin gs l-l. The collars G are interposed between collar d, and the rings H are flat on their surfaces iitted against collar d, but are convex or peaked on their surfaces 'opposite rings lfl, as shown.

The drawings show the gate fully open, and therefore the ste1ncollar d, lower loose collar G, and lower loose elastic ring Il are then ready for action, and a further slight turning of the stem D in the direction required to open the valve or gate causes the stem-collar d to press on loose collar G, thus expanding the elastic packing-ring ll, (lonen) perfectly filling the space between stein, lcose collar, and bottom and sides of stuffing-box and making a Vfluid-tight joint. Then valve is IOO fully closed, then the upper combination G and ll similarly come into play or operation by turning the stem D as if to close valve tighter and thus make a fluid-tight joint in the upper section of their stuffing-box. The loose collars G are introduced to prevent wear of the elastic rings by friction of the stemcollar thereon.

The upper packing or stuffing box, as usually found, is retained and will be packed, as usual, with fibrous packing and serve to ordinarily pack the stem.

It will be obvious from the foregoing that in our invention the valve-stein in emergencies can be packed solely by means of the combination of valve-stein, metallic rings, and elastic packing-collars and operated by means of the screw-pressure produced by means of the stem-screw itself.

In applying the invention to old valves without chambers l), or where the employment of the chamber is iuadvisable or inconvenient, a collar and ring might be introduced at the point U, so that the valve-stein could be packed when the gate was fully opened llaving thus described our invention, what we therefore claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Pate-nt thereon, is-

l. In an emergency packing for valves, the combination of the casing and stem, and a collar on said stem tapered or conical on one side; with a soft elastic and expansible packing surrounding the stem intermediate the ordinary stu fiing-box and valves, and adapted to be compressed and expanded simultaneously by the screw action of the valve-stein, all substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The combination with the casing, valve, and collared valve-stem; of loose metallic colla-rs placed above and below the stem-collar, and elastic packing-rings, above and bclow said metallic collars, adapted to be packed by means of the pressure of the stein-collar thereon exerted by the screw action of the stem itself after the valve is fully opened or closed, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. The combination `of the casing, having chamber l), thc casting E havin g stuffing-box F and gland f, the valves, and the threaded valve stem having a collar cl within said chamber l); with the hard-metal packingrings G, G, in said chamber b above and belowthe collar d, and the elastic packing-rings ll in said chamber b above and below the collars G, whereby the valve-stem can be packed. in an emergency, by means of the screw action of the stem exerted on packings G, ll` through collar D, after the valves are fully opened or closed, all substantially as and for the purpose described.

al. The combination with the casing, valve and collared valve stem; of loose metallic collars G, G, having one of its sides tapered or conical, placed above and below the stemcollar, and elastic and eXpansible packingrings above and below said metallic collars. adapted to be compressed and expanded simultaneously by means of the pressure of thc stein-collar thereon exerted by the screw action of the stem itself after the valve is fully opened or closed, substantially as and for the purpose decribed.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

TILLIAM F. HODGE. HARVEY M. GEER. ln presence of- CHAs. S. BRooKns, PETER KEEFE. 

